Cool Nature Photos

[MossRoad]

Not so much a nature photo as a landscape photo, but here you go.

This view is from Rocky Gap County Park just north of St. Jospeh, MI in Benton Harbor, MI. It holds a special place in my heart. When I was a kid in the 60s, my parents would load us all up in the VW van and we'd head up here, about a 35-40 mile drive. It had these metal breakwaters sticking out into the lake. Probably a dozen or so down the shore. They used to be topped with wood. They were intended to stop beach erosion, but it has been determined in recent years that they actually rob sand further down the shoreline. There are many large conglomerate rocks along the shore, below where I'm standing, hence the park name.

Many times we'd go there, and the dead fish, alewives, were 10-20 feet thick and the beach was unusable. Fish kills were something in the 60s.

We'd go to this beach, because it was (and still is) free.

I almost died at this beach when I was maybe 4 years old. I stepped off of a sandbar when a wave hit me, and went under. I remember the feel of the pebbles and coarse sand rolling against my body, the sunlight above me and my face getting ground into the sand over and over again. I breathed in a slug of water, and it hurt very bad. I was flailing around under there for quite a while when someone grabbed me and pulled me out. They carried me back to shore and put me on a blanket and I coughed up a lot of water. I remember it hurt to breath deeply for about a week after that.

It gave me a fear of water so terrifying that I wouldn't go into a lake, swimming pool, or bathtub until I was 8. I'd literally scream if my parents tried to get me in the tub. So I'd use a washcloth and dishpan when I needed to bath, and wash my hair in the sink, but only if forced.

Surprisingly, an older kid, about 16-17 years old, got me over my fear of water and I eventually became a lifeguard, water safety instructor, and whitewater rescue swimmer. So go figure?

When I started dating my wife, we'd go up to this beach about every evening in the summer, and well into our marriage. We still go by here a couple times a year and always stop by to have a look.

A few years ago, we caught a Monarch Butterfly southerly migration in the fall. Always something different.

On rare, clear days, you can see the top of the Chicago Skyline just poking over the horizon.

(click to enlarge)

 

[MossRoad]

It's over 60 miles from that park to Chicago skyline...

(click to enlarge)

 

[goeduck]

I always thought the Great Lakes had tide changes. Seeing that sandy beach that looks like the ocean, I googled it. They do, but it is not noticeable I understand? Tide changes here are dependent on where you are. High to low difference is about 16 feet here.

 

[ArlyA]

I always thought the Great Lakes had tide changes. Seeing that sandy beach that looks like the ocean, I googled it. They do, but it is not noticeable I understand? Tide changes here are dependent on where you are. High to low difference is about 16 feet here.

This is typically what causes water levels to rise and water gets pushed inland. We've seen coastal highways underwater water from it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A seiche may occur in any semi- or fully-enclosed body of water. Seiches are typically caused when strong winds and rapid changes in atmospheric pressure push water from one end of a body of water to the other.

 

[MossRoad]

I always thought the Great Lakes had tide changes. Seeing that sandy beach that looks like the ocean, I googled it. They do, but it is not noticeable I understand? Tide changes here are dependent on where you are. High to low difference is about 16 feet here.

I've never seen a tide on the Great Lakes. Apparently it's so small as to not be noticeable.

When I was a kid, that breakwater was entirely in the water. The beach was only about 10-20' wide most years back then. The water levels fluctuate from year-to-year due to rain, snow, ice cover, cloud cover, etc. Rain and melting snow raise the level. Ice cover and cloud cover lessen evaporation and moisture uptake, so also contribute to the levels.

Kinda counter intuitive, but the colder it gets in winter, the less lake effect snow we get on the leeward side of the lake. That's because the colder it gets, the more ice that forms on the lake. Heavy ice cover prevents the moisture and heat from the water being transferred to the cold air blowing over the lake.

 

[MossRoad]

This is typically what causes water levels to rise and water gets pushed inland. We've seen coastal highways underwater water from it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A seiche may occur in any semi- or fully-enclosed body of water. Seiches are typically caused when strong winds and rapid changes in atmospheric pressure push water from one end of a body of water to the other.

I remember several houses that used to be near this park. The beaches got eroded and they fell off the hill. Just a mailbox and driveway was all that's left.

There's several roads on the Indiana lakeshore that are now either dead-ended or completely gone due to the erosion. People that used to live across the road from beach houses now have beach front property.

 

[ArlyA]

I remember several houses that used to be near this park. The beaches got eroded and they fell off the hill. Just a mailbox and driveway was all that's left.

There's several roads on the Indiana lakeshore that are now either dead-ended or completely gone due to the erosion. People that used to live across the road from beach houses now have beach front property.

And I wasn't really speaking of erosion or lake water levels, but stating what seiche are and they're effect..

 

[ArlyA]

And were do you find the nutrients in poor UP soils??

 

[dj1701]

Morning Whitetail.

 

[orezok]